I've got a tiny little favor to ask you. At some point today I want you to turn to the person sitting in the cubicle next to yours, or the person on line behind you in the grocery store, or on the next treadmill at the gym, and let this person know that George Clooney is awesome.

Over the last few weeks Mr. Clooney cemented his status as one of the classiest guys in Hollywood by becoming the public face of the fraction of the SAG membership opposed to a vote authorizing the actor's union to go on strike in hopes of securing a more favorable contract from the AMPTP. Clooney was extremely vocal in urging his fellow actors to sign a letter to the SAG leadership urging them not to move forward with the strike authorization vote. The letter states, "We support our union and we support the issues we're fighting for, but we do not believe in all good conscience that now is the time to be putting people out of work." Other high-profile stars who signed the letter include Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Steve Carell, Alec Baldwin, Russell Crowe, Sally Field, Robert Redford, Julianne Moore and Susan Sarandon. On Dec. 23 their efforts seemed to pay off, when SAG announced that the vote on the strike authorization, which was supposed to begin on January 2, would be delayed by two weeks.

Other stars, including Martin Sheen, Mel Gibson and Viggo Mortensen, have lent their voices to the opposition, saying a strike could be necessary to help secure a fair deal for all of its membership, not just the actors whose names you see above the title on movie posters.

While both sides make valid points that are worth debating, the strike supporters seem to be forgetting one essential ingredient for a successful strike -- public support. Clooney and his pals have the wisdom to realize that in a time of such great economic hardship the average American isn't likely to feel sorry for wealthy actors who feel they aren't getting their fair share of DVD residuals. Last winter's WGA strike did a lot of damage to the L.A. economy. Another shutdown of the movie and TV business could be catastrophic for the city, and the actors would be blamed for it. Clooney's letter suggests holding off the fight for Internet and DVD residuals for three years in order to allow some time for the economy to improve, and to wait for other Hollywood guilds to run out their contracts and join them for a quicker, more effective battle. I think it's a good plan. And in the meantime, here are a steps I think SAG members should take in order to ensure that if a strike does occur a few years down the road, they'll have public support on their side:

1) Stay home a little more often: Nothing makes people hate actors more than seeing their faces plastered over tabloid magazine covers in the grocery line, or listening to whatever Perez Hilton has to say about them. So here's my advice to SAG's A-listers -- stay out of the way of the paparazzi for a few weeks! This may mean a few sacrifices (Matthew McConaughey will have to invest in an indoor treadmill for his shirtless jogs, Brad and Angelina will actually have to pick a country to live in and Jennifer Aniston will have to stop talking about Brad, even if it is just to say she's not going to talk about him anymore), but it will be best for everyone in the long run. Let the celebutantes and reality stars rule the tabloids exclusively and people may start to learn the difference between talented actors and fame whores.

2) Go on a different kind of strike -- against bad scripts: One of the biggest arguments you're going to hear if you go on strike is this: "Go ahead. I won't miss your crappy movies anyway." The whole point of going on strike is to prove that you're worth what you're asking for. So when choosing your next pre-strike project, remember that no one's going to be too sad if 10,000 B.C. 2: 20,000 B.C. doesn't get made. Give us more performances we can't live without and we'll be more likely to get all riled up on your behalf.

What SAG members need to keep in mind before they vote to authorize a strike is that they are entertainers. And in times like these, no one is going to find greed to be very entertaining.

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